Convert serving a mission?


ElMattio91
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Hey everyone :) I'm new on this forum.

I dont want to bore you guys so I'll just briefly tell you about myself.  Well my name is Matt, I'm 26 years old and I was baptised in the church in December of last year. I really want to serve a mission one day to share the gospel and the spirit with others. But the obvious problem is I feel like I came into the church too late. I know I can still technically serve a mission but realistically it probably won't happen due to commitments t home etc. My missionaries told me that the oldest you can be on your mission is 30, this means id have to be serving by 28 right? I really want to go somewhere and give others what my missionaries gave me: a new purpose. I want other people to have the happiness I have had since I joined the church. also, I want to marry within the church but I feel most LDS girls would want to marry a guy who has served a mission? Im sorry if all this didn't make much sense but it was just a couple of questions I had. thank you if you read all this haha :)

have a great day

Matt.

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1 hour ago, ElMattio91 said:

Hey everyone :) I'm new on this forum.

I dont want to bore you guys so I'll just briefly tell you about myself.  Well my name is Matt, I'm 26 years old and I was baptised in the church in December of last year. I really want to serve a mission one day to share the gospel and the spirit with others. But the obvious problem is I feel like I came into the church too late. I know I can still technically serve a mission but realistically it probably won't happen due to commitments t home etc. My missionaries told me that the oldest you can be on your mission is 30, this means id have to be serving by 28 right? I really want to go somewhere and give others what my missionaries gave me: a new purpose. I want other people to have the happiness I have had since I joined the church. also, I want to marry within the church but I feel most LDS girls would want to marry a guy who has served a mission? Im sorry if all this didn't make much sense but it was just a couple of questions I had. thank you if you read all this haha :)

have a great day

Matt.

Welcome to the forum!

If you are interested in serving a mission, you should discuss with your Bishop!  When I was on my mission back in 2002, we did have a 28 year old serving.

That said, if it is not really feasible because you converted in your late 20s, not to fear!  I have a friend who converted at around 25 and it was not really feasible for him to serve due to life commitments he had by that time.  This fact didn't stop him from meeting a very nice LDS girl and marrying in the temple!  

Good luck!

Edited by DoctorLemon
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Welcome, @ElMattio91!  A few thoughts:

  1. Preparing yourself to serve a mission would be a good thing whether you go on a formal mission or not.  One of the benefits of this is that if things evolve in such a way that you want to serve, are able to serve, and the Lord calls you to serve, you're already ready. :)
  2. We often think we know what will and won't work out, but God really is a God of miracles.  Things you cannot now imagine may happen which lead to you being a missionary.  Or maybe the Lord needs you to stay in the ward you're in to influence someone there (e.g. as a friend or member missionary).  Or, things may happen such that you meet exactly the woman God wants you to marry and start a family with.  All are worthy activities.  I hear a lot about the "only dating return missionaries" thing, but (a) I'd think once they learn you're a recent convert, that wouldn't matter; (b) if someone can't get over that despite the fact that you're worthy in every other way, you're better off without her (or so I think).  (So make sure you're worthy in every other way!)
  3. Keep the commandments, counsel with the Lord in all you do, learn and progress in the Church, and I'm sure things will work out better than if you didn't do those things (that's the promise, and God keeps his promises).

I wish you well wherever your path leads, and hope you hang around on the forums.

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48 minutes ago, DoctorLemon said:

Welcome to the forum!

If you are interested in serving a mission, you should discuss with your Bishop!  When I was on my mission back in 2002, we did have a 28 year old serving.

That said, if it is not really feasible because you converted in your late 20s, not to fear!  I have a friend who converted at around 25 and it was not really feasible for him to serve due to life commitments he had by that time.  This fact didn't stop him from meeting a very nice LDS girl and marrying in the temple!  

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice :) trouble is I haven't even received the priecedhood yet as I went inactive for a while due to personal issues. But I'm currently working on that with my bishop. Thank you for your well wishes :)

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51 minutes ago, zil said:

Welcome, @ElMattio91!  A few thoughts:

  1. Preparing yourself to serve a mission would be a good thing whether you go on a formal mission or not.  One of the benefits of this is that if things evolve in such a way that you want to serve, are able to serve, and the Lord calls you to serve, you're already ready. :)
  2. We often think we know what will and won't work out, but God really is a God of miracles.  Things you cannot now imagine may happen which lead to you being a missionary.  Or maybe the Lord needs you to stay in the ward you're in to influence someone there (e.g. as a friend or member missionary).  Or, things may happen such that you meet exactly the woman God wants you to marry and start a family with.  All are worthy activities.  I hear a lot about the "only dating return missionaries" thing, but (a) I'd think once they learn you're a recent convert, that wouldn't matter; (b) if someone can't get over that despite the fact that you're worthy in every other way, you're better off without her (or so I think).  (So make sure you're worthy in every other way!)
  3. Keep the commandments, counsel with the Lord in all you do, learn and progress in the Church, and I'm sure things will work out better than if you didn't do those things (that's the promise, and God keeps his promises).

I wish you well wherever your path leads, and hope you hang around on the forums.

Thank you so much for your reply :) I will take all that into consideration. I've only just found out about this forum but ill be sticking around :) thank you again 

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Welcome, brother. To reiterate what others have said:

  • Prepare to serve a mission. Whether or not you actually serve a mission, the preparation will change your spiritual life forever.
  • Talk to your bishop about your desire to serve a mission. He can help you to know the possibilities and can guide you along that path.

Also, desiring to serve a mission is a good thing, especially for a Priesthood holder, which you hope soon to be. You are to be credited for having such a desire. But remember that serving a mission is not a measure of your standing before God. If you can serve a mission -- great! If you can't serve a mission -- don't worry about it. Just follow God's will as best you can.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10.9.2017 at 10:33 PM, ElMattio91 said:

Hey everyone :) I'm new on this forum.

I dont want to bore you guys so I'll just briefly tell you about myself.  Well my name is Matt, I'm 26 years old and I was baptised in the church in December of last year. I really want to serve a mission one day to share the gospel and the spirit with others. But the obvious problem is I feel like I came into the church too late. I know I can still technically serve a mission but realistically it probably won't happen due to commitments t home etc. My missionaries told me that the oldest you can be on your mission is 30, this means id have to be serving by 28 right? I really want to go somewhere and give others what my missionaries gave me: a new purpose. I want other people to have the happiness I have had since I joined the church. also, I want to marry within the church but I feel most LDS girls would want to marry a guy who has served a mission? Im sorry if all this didn't make much sense but it was just a couple of questions I had. thank you if you read all this haha :)

have a great day

Matt.

hey matt, my heartfelt congratulations to your covenant with the Lord. 

Going on a Mission is a serious commitment. Your volition and conviction should merit the intent. I hope you don´t seriously consider going on a mission with a two year labor / education gap just to validate yourself before some girl that will judge you for what you aren´t instead of what you are. 

One does not have to go on a full-time mission to serve our Lord. There is plenty of opportunities waiting for you to do service for the greater glory of the Lord. 

Anyone that does not accept you because you don´t have gone on to a "prestige" road trip should not be worth your efforts. A convert or otherwise level headed LDS girl surely would not make her affections dependent of you having served a mission or not. If you want to serve a mission just because you want to increase the odds of marrying a LDS girl, don´t go. It would be dishonest to yourself and most important to wards the Lord. The mission should not be some marriage requirement. A mission is to give yourself to the service of the Lord. So if you lack the conviction save yourself the money and the time. 

Edited by Hemisphere
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On 25.9.2017 at 5:59 PM, Hemisphere said:

hey matt, my heartfelt congratulations to your covenant with the Lord. 

Going on a Mission is a serious commitment. Your volition and conviction should merit the intent. I hope you don´t seriously consider going on a mission with a two year labor / education gap just to validate yourself before some girl that will judge you for what you aren´t instead of what you are. 

One does not have to go on a full-time mission to serve our Lord. There is plenty of opportunities waiting for you to do service for the greater glory of the Lord. 

Anyone that does not accept you because you don´t have gone on to a "prestige" road trip should not be worth your efforts. A convert or otherwise level headed LDS girl surely would not make her affections dependent of you having served a mission or not. If you want to serve a mission just because you want to increase the odds of marrying a LDS girl, don´t go. It would be dishonest to yourself and most important to wards the Lord. The mission should not be some marriage requirement. A mission is to give yourself to the service of the Lord. So if you lack the conviction save yourself the money and the time. 

I kind of have to agree, you should should go on a mission because you want to serve. Not because you want a marriage guarantee.

However, Hemisphere I have to tell you, that should not dismiss us as Missionary hungry.

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On 9/10/2017 at 2:33 PM, ElMattio91 said:

Hey everyone :) I'm new on this forum.

I dont want to bore you guys so I'll just briefly tell you about myself.  Well my name is Matt, I'm 26 years old and I was baptised in the church in December of last year. I really want to serve a mission one day to share the gospel and the spirit with others. But the obvious problem is I feel like I came into the church too late. I know I can still technically serve a mission but realistically it probably won't happen due to commitments t home etc. My missionaries told me that the oldest you can be on your mission is 30, this means id have to be serving by 28 right? I really want to go somewhere and give others what my missionaries gave me: a new purpose. I want other people to have the happiness I have had since I joined the church. also, I want to marry within the church but I feel most LDS girls would want to marry a guy who has served a mission? Im sorry if all this didn't make much sense but it was just a couple of questions I had. thank you if you read all this haha :)

have a great day

Matt.

I would definitely recommend serving a mission :). Not for some arbitrary standard of righteousness, but for your own righteousness :)

The missionary I trained had been a member for only a year before serving and he was my all time favorite companion! So don’t decide not to serve because of a lack of knowledge or experience.

Also. LDS women want righteous men to marry. Often times that accompanies serving a mission.

 

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On 25/09/2017 at 4:59 PM, Hemisphere said:

hey matt, my heartfelt congratulations to your covenant with the Lord. 

Going on a Mission is a serious commitment. Your volition and conviction should merit the intent. I hope you don´t seriously consider going on a mission with a two year labor / education gap just to validate yourself before some girl that will judge you for what you aren´t instead of what you are. 

One does not have to go on a full-time mission to serve our Lord. There is plenty of opportunities waiting for you to do service for the greater glory of the Lord. 

Anyone that does not accept you because you don´t have gone on to a "prestige" road trip should not be worth your efforts. A convert or otherwise level headed LDS girl surely would not make her affections dependent of you having served a mission or not. If you want to serve a mission just because you want to increase the odds of marrying a LDS girl, don´t go. It would be dishonest to yourself and most important to wards the Lord. The mission should not be some marriage requirement. A mission is to give yourself to the service of the Lord. So if you lack the conviction save yourself the money and the time. 

Thank you, Hemisphere :)

Finding a wife isn't the only reason for me wanting to serve. That was just a factor and something I was wondering. I want to serve because it would be an incredible experience and I want other people to have what we have in our LDS family and to give back to the lord by doing his work :) 

You make a good point though,one does not have to serve a full time mission in order to serve the lord, Thank you for your advice.

P.S apologies for the delayed response, I thought I had replied to this comment already (my brain has been fried recently haha) Have a great day!

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  • 3 months later...
On 9/28/2017 at 3:24 AM, ElMattio91 said:

Thank you, Hemisphere :)

Finding a wife isn't the only reason for me wanting to serve. That was just a factor and something I was wondering. I want to serve because it would be an incredible experience and I want other people to have what we have in our LDS family and to give back to the lord by doing his work :) 

You make a good point though,one does not have to serve a full time mission in order to serve the lord, Thank you for your advice.

P.S apologies for the delayed response, I thought I had replied to this comment already (my brain has been fried recently haha) Have a great day!

HI Matt. I apologize for coming into this conversation late, but you acknowledged something that I'd like to touch on.
"...one does not have to serve a full time mission in order to serve the lord..." Absolutely correct. As the Ward Mission Leader, and a convert (at age 28, 20 years ago), I can assure you that your Ward Mission Leader would love to have your help!! Anything you can do will be welcome. I'm not sure if a Ward Missionary calling is what your are hoping for, but living "in the mission field", as we say here in Salt Lake City, gives you ample opportunity to share what your testimony of the Gospel and Jesus Christ with plenty of people waiting to hear that message.

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  • 1 month later...

Our stake president was a young adult convert, and it always bothered him greatly that he missed a chance than to be full-time proslyting missionary.  Since his retirement from work him and his wife are now on their fourth f/t mission call.   #1 - Chile, #2-India, #3 Washington DC, #4 - San Diego YCSM.    Each mission gained greatly from his great testimony and leadership talents.

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